COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Columbus Crew has fired Robert Warzycha after five years as head coach.

Technical Director and former Crew defender Brian Bliss will fill in as interim. Assistant coaches Ricardo Iribarren and Vojislav Stanisic were also let go and will be replaced soon.

The Crew is 8-13-5 (29 points) and eighth place in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference, eight points outside of the fifth and final playoff spot with eight games remaining in the regular season.

Warzycha, a former Crew player and assistant coach, was 70-59-41, tied with Tom Fitzgerald (1996-2001) for the most regular-season wins as head coach. Under Warzycha, the Crew won the 2009 Supporters' Shield, made back-to-back semifinal runs in the CONCACAF Champions League and reached the 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final.